A group of campers have been speaking about the ordeal of being trapped by a wild weather system in remote Western Australia.
Three families were staying at Amherst Point, a popular beachside camping spot at Warroora Station between Carnarvon and Coral Bay, when 100mm of rain fell overnight on March 31.
One of the campers, Brad Cuff, told the West Australian newspaper that the weather was pretty extreme.
“We thought we would take a drive through to Coral Bay,” he said. “As we’re going to Coral Bay we were pounded by the rain and then, heading back to Amherst Point, we got a call from the rangers saying a severe weather warning had come through but we should be okay.”
However, as the heavens opened and winds of 60-80 km/h whipped through, the landscape quickly changed.
“That night and the whole next day we were just trying to maintain the campsite,” Mr Cuff told the West Australian. “And, because we’re parked at Amherst Point, we’re essentially on the beach … the rivers just started flowing off the top of escarpments coming down and we just had rivers flooding straight through the beach.”
The group of campers dug a trench towards the beach to drain the water. PIC: Brad Cuff / West Australian
The rain caused the creeks and lagoons to break, blocking off the road back to Warroora Station.
“Parks and rangers guys were amazing, Mr Cuff said. “They pretty much were in touch with us straight away and arranged to drop water off.”
In the end, the group of 11 campers were stuck for an extra five days than planned without access to supplies.
“Luckily, we had a bit of fish and we had over-catered which was good,” said Mr Cuff. “The main thing was the uncertainty of when would we get out.”
Mr Cuff said rangers were able to send a boat from Coral Bay on April 3 with provisions.
“It was more about thinking what do we need to manage,” he said. “We knew we weren’t going to starve … it was just a matter of how long can we can we go in discomfort.”
The road eventually opened again on April 5 and the families were able to leave.
And the big lesson?
“Never underestimate the weather,” Mr Cuff said.
